AP, Manchester :
Manchester City is closing in on another Premier League title. Manchester United is increasingly unlikely to even make the top four.
In a derby match that highlighted the chasm that has formed between the two fierce rivals, City kept the destination of the title in its own hands by winning 2-0 thanks to goals by Bernardo Silva and substitute Leroy Sane at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
An 11th straight victory in the league moved City one point above Liverpool with three games left this season in its bid to become the first team to retain the trophy since United in 2009.
United slumped to a seventh loss in its last nine matches under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. After losing 4-0 at Everton on Sunday, questions had been asked about the attitude and desire of United’s players and Solskjaer got a reaction in that respect.
This time, United simply wasn’t good enough.
“There is a difference in quality – that is why they are top and we are where we are,” said Solskjaer, whose team hasn’t scored a goal in open play in 572 minutes. “They have set the standard. Living in Manchester, we cannot be happy with that. It is up to us to close that gap and overtake them.”
That is unlikely to happen any time soon. Pep Guardiola’s side cannot reach the milestone of 100 points like last season but it continues to break records. Sane’s 66th-minute strike meant City has 157 goals in all competitions for the season, beating the English record for a single top-flight campaign that the team held from the pre-Guardiola era in 2013-14.
City will win the league with victories its last three games – against Burnley, Leicester and Brighton. Liverpool’s last three games are against Huddersfield, Newcastle and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“It’s in our hands,” Guardiola said, “but Liverpool is not going to lose points.” A week after letting a shot from Lionel Messi slip through his fingers in a heavy Champions League loss to Barcelona, United goalkeeper David De Gea was partially at fault for both goals against City.
Bernardo Silva received a short pass, cut inside from the right and shot just inside De Gea’s near post in the 54th minute, with the goalkeeper slow to get down to his left.
De Gea then failed to keep out with his legs a low shot from Sane at the end of sweeping counterattack led by Raheem Sterling.
“He has high standards,” Solskjaer said. “When we are having a time like this, we need to stick together, batten the hatches down and keep working. We have to come back fighting on Sunday.”
